So my brother has an HP laptop, and yesterday he got this bizarre porn pop-up ad out of nowhere. After that, his camera light started flickering on and off. We installed McAfee right after, but it hasn't found anything suspicious. It was working fine until later today when his homescreen started changing to explicit images. My brother insists he hasn't clicked on any weird ads or links; he was just trying to do his assignment using the university library and Google Docs. Now he's even received a strange message on his laptop saying, "I am watching you. This is not a game. Press Y or N to begin the conversation. There is no turning back." I'm really worried and could use some help!
3 Answers
If you don’t want to go through the hassle of reinstalling Windows, at least download Malwarebytes and run a scan after disconnecting from the internet. It's much more reliable than McAfee, and you’ll want to take precautions with your passwords too, just in case. Those could have already been compromised.
I think it’s a virus. Try doing a system restore to a previous point. If that doesn’t work, you might need to fully reinstall Windows and format the hard drive to wipe it clean.
To be on the safe side, I'd recommend reinstalling Windows using a USB stick created from a different computer. Also, change your passwords and enable two-factor authentication everywhere. And honestly, McAfee isn't the best choice—consider using Windows Defender and Malwarebytes instead for better protection.
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